Use and/or misuse of antibiotics in management of diarrhea among children in Enugu, Southeast Nigeria.

Background: Diarrheal diseases are a leading cause of under-5 morbidity and mortality worldwide.

Objective: To determine the use and/or misuse of antibiotics on children with diarrheal disease by caregivers.

Method: An observational prospective study involving 210 children and their caregivers seen at the pediatric outpatient clinic of a tertiary hospital between January and May 2012 was undertaken.

Results: The mean age of the children was 18.07 ± 14.29 months. One hundred twenty-four (59%) were male, whereas 86 (41%) were female. Almost half of the children (46.7%) used unprescribed antibiotics during an episode of diarrhea.

Conclusions: Antibiotics are being abused in children with diarrhea and caregivers need to be educated against this urgently.